Week 36: Day 4
Join Pete today as he introduces us to Bartimaeus and reflects on how Jesus transformed his life.
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Intro: Hello and welcome to Orbit, a short reflection to help you put God at the centre of your life from the team behind Satellites - I'm Pete Baker. Each weekday we share a little bit of the Bible with you, give you a chance to pray and think about it, and provide you with one practical way to put it into practice today.
Bible: Today's reading comes from Mark chapter 10, starting at verse 46:
Then they came to Jericho. As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd, were leaving the city, a blind man, Bartimaeus (which means “son of Timaeus”), was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.”
So they called to the blind man, “Cheer up! On your feet! He’s calling you.” Throwing his cloak aside, he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him.
The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.”
“Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road.
Thoughts: Jesus is the miracle maker! The four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are full of eye witness accounts of Jesus healing the sick, restoring sight to the blind, giving people hope, dignity, meaning and purpose. Jesus is the miracle maker!
In this story we meet a professional beggar called Bartimaeus. He’s been forced to make a living out of begging from the passers-by but on this occasion that passer by happens to be the miracle maker Jesus! Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was coming by and so called out in a loud voice for Jesus to help him! This may well of been the last time that Jesus walked on this road, this may have been the last chance for Bartimaeus to meet with Jesus and for Jesus to bring healing to his body but also completely change his life.
Once healed Bartimaeus could work, could worship in the temple, could see his friends and family and live fully as part of the community.
Today, what if Jesus was walking past, what if you could speak to him and ask him to help you, what would you ask?
Pray: King Jesus, like Bartimaeus we cry out for you to help us today, heal us today, restore us today, in Jesus name, amen.
Silence: There's now just a few moments of silence for you to pray, reflect on these ideas, or simply sit and be still.
Action: Every day on Orbit we give you a simple practical challenge to help you put this passage into action in your life. Here's today's:
Jesus asked the question to Bartimaeus ‘what can I do for you?’ Imagine Jesus is asking you that question, what would you answer be?
Do you know anyone that is sick or struggling today, could you pray for them and believe that Jesus might heal their body and restore them?
Outro: That's it for today's Orbit. Thanks so much for joining us - we'll be back with another reflection tomorrow.